Madonna denies Sean Penn tied her up and beat her with a baseball bat
By Will Stroude
Madonna has denied historical allegations that ex-husband Sean Penn assaulted her during their marriage in the late 1980s.
The Living for Love singer says that the “caring and compassionate” Penn “never struck” her during the pair’s four-year marriage between 1985 and 1989, as she submitted legal evidence in his defamation suit against Empire creator Lee Daniels, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Penn has launched a $10m defamation suit against Daniels after the filmmaker gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter in September, in which he defended Empire star Terrence Howard following his admission he had hit his wife by saying he “ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn”.
On Thursday, Penn filed an amended complaint in the lawsuit suit, including a statement from Madonna in which she categorically denies rumours about the Milk actor’s alleged abuse, including one incident in which he supposedly tied her up and beat her with a baseball bat.
“I am aware of the allegations that have surfaced over the years accusing Sean of incidents of physical assault and abuse against me,” the 57-year-old wrote. “Specifically, I am aware of the allegations concerning an alleged incident that occurred in June 1987, whereby (according to tabloid reports) Sean allegedly struck me with ‘a baseball bat’.
“I know the allegations in those and other reports to be completely outrageous, malicious and false.
She continued: “I am also aware of allegations concerning an incident that occurred in December 1989, which purportedly resulted in Sean’s arrest for domestic assault and battery against me.
“I know those allegations to be false. While we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, ‘tied me up’ or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false.”
The allegations of abuse date back to December 1988, when Madonna filed a complaint at the sheriff’s office in Malibu alleging that her then-husband Penn had assaulted her. Penn was charged with infliciting “corporal injury and traumatic conditions” as well as battery, but the complaint was withdrawn a week later.
Meanwhile, Daniels is defending himself by arguing that the US constitution’s first amendment, guarantees his right to free speech.
He argues Penn’s lawsuit “attempts to silence Daniels’ honestly held opinion, a contribution to the marketplace of ideas voiced during the nation’s agonizing debate about racial disparity and domestic violence. The First Amendment abhors attempts to chill speech on hot topics.”
More stories:
Madonna calls audience ‘diva b*tches’, cuts Manchester show short
Watch | MTV release extended scene from ‘gay for pay’ porn documentary